11 get life sentence in 2005 caste clash case in UP

Ballia: 11 persons have been sentenced to life imprisonment by a local court in a decade-old triple murder case in Dahturi Tola village.

On June 11 2005, two groups belonging to different castes had clashed following a dispute over plucking of mangos in Beria police station area leading to the murder of Abhay Singh of one faction and Pintu Verma and Ashok Verma of the other, prosecution sources said.

Additional Sessions Judge Ashwini Kumar Singh pronounced the judgement last evening, holding the 11 guilty and sentencing them to life imprisonment.

While convicts Krishna, Badri, Avdhesh, Mohan, Rajesh, Chand Muni and Shyam Bihari belong to the same group, Gangesh, Yogendra, Chulbul and Dinesh are from the rival group.

The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on each of them, the sources added.